Labour
by TheBhoys
Summary: It's the end of July 1980 and Lily has a grudge against the baby growing in her uterus.


**Disclaimer: not me, not me, not me…**

**A/N: As of now this is a one-shot but if I get a good response I might continue this between writing my other stories. Hope you enjoy -Shannon**

A very pregnant woman is never fun, a very pregnant woman in the middle of the summer is bad, a very pregnant woman in the middle of the summer in a heat wave is horrible, a over-three-weeks-over-due very pregnant woman in the middle of the summer during a heat wave is well… lets just say Armageddon would seem like a picnic on a perfect spring day with adorable fluffy bunnies dancing about you (minus the bunnies if you're allergic of course because that wouldn't be any fun).

And that would be why James was currently hiding in the back yard trying, without success, to avoid his wife who was most unfortunately pregnant with his child and not taking kindly to the notion of having it stuck in her for any longer than she already had.

The tantrum would be over in a matter of minutes and weren't that unusual as of late but they still scared the shit out of him. Now James was by no means a cowardly man but to be frank normal Lily could scare him, hormonal Lily… she could make him cower like a badly frightened puppy and that was something that not even several encounters with Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters had done.

By the time Lily had settled down with a glass of ice water and had started to talk to her stomach, James had successfully lodged himself between the rosebush and the side of his house right under the kitchen windowsill. He was about to attempt to make his way over to her when her words drifted over to him.

"I want you out, you hear me. I'm your mother and its 105 feckin' degrees and when I say out I mean out, you're already late and tardiness will not be endured. No excuses and I won't take no for an answer, you got that young lady. I will not tolerate any cheek…" Lily continued her voice slightly rising and becoming lined with what only be described as a manic squeak.

Not having a very good vantage point and unsure of whether to be alarmed or amused by the fact that his wife was yelling at his unborn daughter as if she expected the baby to materialize in front of her on her command, James couldn't help but jump when another voice joined the conversation. It was just his luck that he hit his head on the sill.

"You know she won't listen, Lily. She is after all James's kid." Peters amused voice was heard, "Speaking of which where … James?" James could just make out his friends head craning around the bush, "What the hell are you doing back there mate?"

"Err… praying to what ever power that will listen to make little Emma Potter get her arse out of my wife?" James replied hesitantly.

"But why in the bushes?" Peter asked all he got in response was a shrug.

"James Potter were you hiding from me?" Lily accused. James winced. "You leave me alone and go hide in a rosebush. You have any idea what it feels like to be pregnant. My back has been aching all day and you play go and play in the yard. I bet you were going to come in late for dinner too. I swear you're almost as bad as your daughter. You know she was _suppose _to come on July 5th but _nooo_ it's July 31st and she's still not here. It's your fault you know, you are always running late. She gets this from you."

"Lil you do know that kids get their parents personality traits after they're born, right?" Peter said in a soothing voice. Out of all the Marauders Peter seemed to be the only one that could last the longest around Lily with out her yelling or hexing or hitting or pinching him.

Sirius didn't last very long seeing as how he had a tendency of acting like an over grown toddler stuck in its terrible two's in a candy and/or toy store when ever he was excited and the idea of being a godfather made him very excited.

Remus suffered from what was affectionately called "Mommy-Lily Syndrome" meaning that he was continually berated for not eating enough, working too much, not resting enough, not getting enough sun (she refused to acknowledge the fact that it was hard for anyone to get a lot of sun in the UK), and anything else that she could find that she believed she could remedy if he was in her care (because all twenty year-old men need a caretaker).

James was a special case. He was always around so he witnessed almost all of her mood swings, also meaning that he was at the brunt of a fair share. That was why in times when Lily was relaxed, as she was now joking with Peter, he found it best to just sit back and relax and think about the fact that when the baby he came he would have his wife back **and** a baby girl to dote on. James had been excited when he had found out that they were having a baby but when he had found out he was having a baby girl he had been ecstatic, it made it that much more real.

"… I just want her to come out; I want to meet the little one that has been kicking me every night for the last few months." She started talking to her stomach again, this time poking it. "You hear that little one, you've have to come out there is a lot of people who want to meet you so you have to come ou-" Lily clutched her belly and a second later Peter jumped from his position next to her as her water broke. "I told you it would work; she just needed a little motivation."

"Err, James, I think it's time." Peter stuttered resembling a deer stuck in a headlight.

_Four hours later_

"James tell her to stay in, it hurt less when she wasn't trying to get out." Lily half sobbed between contractions. They had given her a potion for the pain an hour before but now that she was so close to giving birth that it wasn't enough and they wouldn't give her anymore anyway.

"I know Lil, I know." He was quiet sure that his fingers were broken. "But it's almost over and then you'll have a beautiful baby girl to show for it."

"THEN TELL THE DOCTORS TO GET HER THE HELL OUT!" She yelled before squeezing his hand in another contraction.

_Half an hour later_

As the doctor examined James's hand and quickly preformed a healing charm on it, Lily lay exhausted with a huge smile on her face and a newly placed little bundle lying on her chest. James made his way over to the bed and sat next to Lily putting his hand reverently on the bundle and smiling at his wife.

"You see what we made daddy." Lily whispered to him and then smiled conspiringly "You remember when they said it was ninety-nine percent certain that we would have a little girl?" James nodded. "Well congratulations Mr. Potter you just defied odds and fell in to that one percent."

"Wh-What? It's a boy… I-I have a son." Lily gave the little boy to his father and watched her husbands smile widen to the point where his face had to be hurting.

"Hey little boy, I'm your daddy. I'm the one that's going to teach you all about Quidditch." He couldn't tear his eyes from the little sleeping baby boy in his arms. "We need a name. He can hardly be Emma."

"How bout Harry, Harry James?" Lily responded between slowly drifting off to sleep.

"Yeah, I like that. Hi Harry James Potter." When they first found out they were having a baby they had fought over Lily's reluctance to name their baby after one of them or someone who had died in the war. But apparently she had caved - to an extent, the Potter charm remained full proof.

James laid his son in the bassinet that was beside Lily's bed, glancing at the card that showed who the baby was, who his parents were, how much he weighed, his birthday, his length, and his godfather (James had a feeling that Sirius had something to do with that considering it was squeezed in a corner in his messy scrawl).

With one last glance at his family, James went to tell everyone about his son.


End file.
